Blizzard, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- April 18, 5:17 PM AKST to April 19, 1:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWSS
Blizzard in Alaska, April 18 to 19, 2011
A 1003 mb low in the eastern Beaufort Sea at 1600AKST on the 18th deepened to 992 mb at 1000AKST as the low passed south of Banks Island. The low produced a period of blizzard conditions at Barter Island from 1717AKST on the 18th through approximately 1300AKST on the 19th.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.
A 1003 mb low in the eastern Beaufort Sea at 1600AKST on the 18th deepened to 992 mb at 1000AKST as the low passed south of Banks Island. The low produced a period of blizzard conditions at Barter Island from 1717AKST on the 18th through approximately 1300AKST on the 19th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 45 kt/52 mph at the Barter Island AWSS.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 18, 12:03 PM AKST, 5 hours 14 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 18, 12:03 PM AKST, 5 hours 14 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 103 PM AKDT MON APR 18 2011 .DISCUSSION...THE MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH 72 HOURS. HIGH PRESSURE OVER FAR EAST RUSSIA AND THE NORTHWEST COAST OF ALASKA THIS EVENING WILL MOVE BACK TO THE WEST AS LOW PRESSURE MOVES INTO THE BANKS ISLAND AREA AND A SERIES OF SHORT WAVES DROP SOUTH TO THE NORTHEAST ARCTIC COAST THROUGH THU. AT THE SURFACE A TROUGH WILL PASS OVER THE NORTHEAST ARCTIC COAST LATE THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT BRINGING BLIZZARD CONDITIONS TO THAT AREA. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER NORTHERN ALASKA TUE AND WED AND PERSIST IN THE BERING SEA THROUGH WED. NORTH SLOPE...A STRONG AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE FROM 150 NM NORTHWEST OF DEMARCATION POINT TO JUST SOUTH OF BANKS ISLAND BY LATE MON NIGHT. THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT MOVING OVER THE NORTHEAST ARCTIC COAST WILL BRING SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW...STRONG WINDS...AND BLOWING SNOW TO THAT AREA CREATING BLIZZARD CONDITIONS THROUGH NOON TUE. AREAS OF FOG OVER THE CENTRAL ARCTIC COAST WILL PERSIST THROUGH TUE MORNING. WEST COAST...EXPECT GENERALLY MOSTLY CLEAR INLAND WITH SOME AREAS OF FOG...AT TIMES DENSE...TO COASTAL AREAS. TEMPERATURES NEAR NORMAL WITH LIGHT WINDS THROUGH WED. NO PRECIPITATION EXPECTED THROUGH THU. INTERIOR...THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR AND THE SOUTHEASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA SHOULD HAVE MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS. THE BROOKS RANGE WILL SEE 1 TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW AND STRONG WINDS THROUGH PASSES TONIGHT AND TUE MORNING. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS OUT THROUGH TUE MORNING FOR ATIGUN PASS FOR NORTH WINDS 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH. VISIBILITY WILL BE REDUCED TO BELOW ONE HALF MILE AT TIMES IN BLOWING SNOW. TEMPERATURES WILL COOL BY 5 TO 10 DEGREES THROUGH THU BEFORE WARMING AGAIN FRI THROUGH SUN AS A RIDGE BUILDS OVER EASTERN ALASKA. && .FIRE WEATHER...NONE. && .HYDROLOGY...NONE. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ204. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ203-AKZ206. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ245. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ235-PKZ240. && RL APR 11
Event by event
1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Blizzard
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Debris Flow in Wyoming, April 18, 2011
- Flooding in Utah, April 18 to 20, 2011
- Winter Storm in Montana, April 18 to 19, 2011
- Heavy Snow in North Dakota, April 18 to 19, 2011
- High Wind in California, April 18 to 21, 2011
- Winter Storm and Avalanche in Colorado, April 18 to 20, 2011
- High Wind in New Mexico, April 18 to 19, 2011
- High Wind in Texas, April 18 to 19, 2011
- Winter Storm in Montana, April 18 to 19, 2011
- Winter Storm in Montana, April 18, 2011
- Hail in Florida, April 18, 2011
- Damaging Wind in Florida, April 18, 2011
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, April 2011
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 285684.